Few things in investing make my eyes light up quite like a penny stock that quietly doubles while nobody’s watching. And that’s precisely what Aminex (LSE:AEX) has done over the past 12 months, surging more than 113%, and turning a small lump sum into something far more exciting.
But after more than doubling, is it too late for me to buy shares? Or is Aminex only getting started?
What’s going on at Aminex?
As a quick introduction, Aminex is an early-stage oil & gas exploration and development company that’s been operating in Tanzania since 2002. With just five employees, it’s not your typical FTSE 100 heavyweight. And the entire investment thesis rests on one key asset: the Ntorya gas project – a large natural gas field in the Ruvuma Basin.
For years, the company’s essentially been in a holding pattern, performing tests and surveys but generating zero revenue. And a big reason why has been the lack of infrastructure for Aminex to sell the gas once it’s extracted. Yet now that’s beginning to change in a major way.
The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) is a state-owned enterprise that’s currently constructing the Ntorya-Madimba pipeline.
This critical piece of infrastructure will solve Aminex’s gas transmission problem, allowing its gas to flow into the country’s domestic energy network. And with pipeline materials arriving early, construction’s currently on track to be completed by July.
In other words, revenue could start hitting its books in just a few short months. And this imminent inflexion point is what’s sent Aminex shares flying, from 1.08p to 2.30p today – a 112.9% increase!
That means a £1,000 investment in April 2025 is now worth close to £2,129.63 today, netting investors a profit of £1,129.63 without lifting a finger.
Looking back, Aminex was clearly a good stock to buy last year. But as experienced investors know, past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. So should I still be considering this young business for my own growth portfolio?
Is now still a good time to buy?
The bull case from here’s genuinely exciting. Once the first gas flows, Aminex transforms almost overnight from a speculative development stock into a revenue-generating business. Tanzanian authorities have already approved a $50m-plus work programme for 2026, and the project’s reportedly progressing on schedule, something that’s often quite rare for a pre-revenue gas explorer.
Having said that, it’s important to recognise there are still some pretty substantial risks. Right now, Aminex is entirely dependent on a single project in a single country outside of the regulatory safety zone of the OECD. Any delay to the Ntorya-Madimba pipeline, whether from technical setbacks, weather, or regulatory friction, could trigger a sharp spike in volatility.
After all, as a pre-revenue business, Aminex has relied heavily on issuing equity to keep the lights on. And if the timeline slips, more equity dilution could be required as the group burns through its limited cash reserves.
Put simply, this isn’t a penny stock for the faint-hearted, and it isn’t great fit for my own portfolio. But for growth investors comfortable with speculative early-stage companies, Aminex’s story is quite compelling and worth investigating further. And with first gas potentially just months away, the most exciting chapters could still be ahead.
